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Vote for India's best performance in Australia in the 21st century – Kohli's Tons in Adelaide vs Ganguly in Brisbane

Posted on by Vanessa
Vote for India's best performance in Australia in the 21st century – Kohli's Tons in Adelaide vs Ganguly in Brisbane

As we prepare for the upcoming five-Test series, ESPNcricinfo, Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar invite you to help us identify India's best individual performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia in the 21st century. We shortlisted 16 performances and compared them with each other. Now all you have to do is vote to send one of the following candidates to the quarterfinals.

Virat Kohli – 115 & 141 ​​at Adelaide, 2014

India lost by 48 runs

In a career full of milestones, Virat Kohli has a very special place in his heart for these two hundreds. He made that clear on every subsequent trip to Adelaide. The runs he made, the way he made them, the way he got hit in the head early by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer and fended off the Australians who came up to him and asked him if he was okay, just so he didn't have to break out. The bubble he has to be in to score the big runs and the path he took his team by saying they won't be in the toss – all of that played out played a big role in deciding what kind of cricketer and captain he wanted to be.
His first innings 114 on his captaincy debut kept India in the game after conceding 517, and his second innings 141 gave India hope that as long as Kohli was batting, there was a chance of pulling off an incredible comeback of 364. This achievement made Kohli the first visiting batsman to score two centuries in a Test in Australia since 1961 and no one has done it since.

Watch highlights of these performances starting October 25 at 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM IST on Star Sports network.

Sourav Ganguly – 144 at Brisbane, 2003

Game drawn, series score 0-0

In the run-up to the 2003-04 tour of Australia, the words 'chin music' were so closely associated with Indian captain Sourav Ganguly that he left India early to spend six days practicing short-pitch bowling with Greg Chappell.

His preparations were immediately tested at the Gabba, where India slipped from 61 for 0 to 62 for 3 in response to Australia's 323. In conditions that offered the pace and bounce that are the hallmark of Australian venues, Ganguly showed remarkable judgment in his handling of the short delivery and scored his first Test hundred in Australia.

The innings was a statement from a leader that his team was a force to be reckoned with on this trip down under. Ganguly gave India a lead in the first innings that helped India overtake Brisbane – an Australian fortress – at series level, a success that went a long way in securing India's first drawn series in Australia since 1981.

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